Music-leaf turner.



E; MEIER. MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20, 1910.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

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Attorney s" E.. MEIER.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED APILZO, 1910.

1,021,940, Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

Witnesses Inventor,

Attorneys COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH IO-.WASHINUTON. D. c.

E. MEIER.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER. APPLICATION FILED me, 1910.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

lnven or,

Attorneys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNST MEIER, 0F I-IYE, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALBERT MEIER, OFHYE, TEXAS.

MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

Application filed April 20, 1910. Serial No. 556,506.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNST MEIER, a subject of Switzerland, residing atHye, in the county of Blanco and State of Texas, have invented a new anduseful Music-Leaf Turner, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates -to music leaf turners for use in connection withpianos, organs and the like and which can also be used upon ordinarytypes of music racks.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter utilizing revoluble means for shifting an exposed leaf out ofcontact with the adjoining leaf and into position where it can beproperly engaged so as to be turned by the mechanism.

A further object is to provide means under the control of a foot of theoperator, for successively buckling and engaging the leaf to be turned,then turning the leaf, and finally disengaging the mechanism from theleaf and returning the said mechanism to its initial position.

Another object is to provide improved means for holding a sheet againstdisplacement after it has been turned, said holding means also servingto prevent the turning of more than one leaf at a time and beingoperated by the same mechanism utilized for actuating the turningmechanism.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certainnovel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter morefully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a view partly in section and partly inside elevation of the complete mechanism, the turning and holding armsbeing shown in their intermediate positions and portions of the backrods being removed. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the parts shown inFig. 1, the two arms, however, being shown in their normal position.Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sec tion through the telescopic rockshaft. Fig. 4: is a side elevation of the gear case used in connectionwith the turning arm. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of theupper gear case and of the supporting strip carried thereby, the holdingarm being shown pivotally connected to the gear in the case and restingon the strip, only a portion of said arm being illustrated. Fig. 6 is ahorizontal section through the case of the turning arm and showing aportion of the rack and its gear and chain. Fig. 7 is a plan view of aportion of said case. Fig. 8 is an enlarged elevation of the gearmounted on the upstanding shaft of the device and showing the rack insection, the gear holding frame being shown partly in section and partlyin elevation. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the adjusting rack bar andthe connection between it and the arm of the bell crank lever includedin the elevating mechanism. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the sleeveused in connection with the turning arm. Fig. 11 is an enlargedtransverse section through the base and the slide thereon. Fig. 12 is aperspective view of a portion of the intermediate pedal and theadjoining parts. Fig. 13 is an enlarged vertical section through thegear casingsand the revoluble standard, the adjoining portions of theshafts being shown partly in section and partly in elevation. Fig. 14 isan enlarged elevation of the lower portion of the main upstanding shaft.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates abracket adapted to be secured to the front portion of a piano, organ orother instrument, close to the pedals and this bracket has a shaft 2journaled upon it and extending rearwardly therefrom,

extension being provided with oppositely eX-" tending pedals 5 and 6.The extension 3 is journaled within a bearing ring 7 having trunnions 8which are journaled within opposite portions of a fork 9. This fork islocated at the upper end of a standard 10 which straddles and ispivotally connected to the front portion of the bracket 1. Theconnection between the standard 10 and the bracket 1 is preferably madeby means of a spring loop 11 the ends of which are sprung intoregistering openings within the said standards and the brackets. Anintermediate foot rest or pedal 12 is engaged by the terminals of theforks 9 and extends above and between the pedals 5 and 6 and in thegeneral direction of the length of the extension 3.

Arms 13 extend in opposite directions from the back end of the shaft 2and parallel back bars 14 are pivotally connected to the outer ends ofthese arms and extend through a guide bracket-15 which may be secured inany preferred manner to the back of the piano, organ, or any othersupporting structure, a portion of which has been indicated by dottedlines at 16 in Fig. 1. The upper ends of the bars 14 are pivotallyconnected to the outer ends of oppositely extending arms 17 secured tothe rear end of the back section 18 of an extensible shaft. This sectionis mounted to slide and rotate within a bracket 19 and projects looselyinto the tubular front section 20 of said shaft. This front section ismounted to rotate with in bearings 21 but is not adapted to slidetherein. A slot 22 is formed longitudinally within the section 20 and aprojection 23 ex tends into and is adapted to slide within the slot 22,the said projection being secured to or formed upon the shaft section18. An ear 24 projects upwardly from the rear bearing 21 and isconnected by a spring 25 with an ear or projection 26 secured to thesection 20. It is to be understood that this spring serves to hold theprojection 26 normally vertical and, therefore, when the shaft sectionsare turned to the right or to the left, the spring 25 will be placedunder stress so that as soon as the shaft is released, the spring willreturn it to its initial position.

Forwardly curved diverging arms 27 extend from the front end of theshaft section 20 and are secured to or formed wit-h the ends of anarcuate rack 28. This rack is movably mounted above a bracket 29extending forwardly from the upper end of the base 30 which ispreferably formed of a strip of metal having a longitudinal channel 31in the back thereof. The channeled portion of the said base has alongitudinal slot 32 for the purpose hereinafter set forth. An angularretaining plate 33 is hingedly connected to the front end of the bracket29 and is adapted to project over the rack 28 and to also extendparallel with the bracket 29, the back end of the said plate 33 beingturned downward as indicated at 34 so as to rest upon the bracket. Aslide 35 straddles and is movably mounted upon the outstandinglongitudinally extending portion of the base 30 and a retaining plate 36is mounted within the channel 31 and is connected to the slide by meansof one or more rivets 37 or the like extending through the slot 32.

A rack bar 38 is pivotally connected to the upper end of the slide 35and is sliclably mounted within an opening 39 formed within the bracket29, there being a sleeve 40 slidably mounted on the rack bar andcarrying a spring pressed dog 41 designed to be placed in engagementwith any one of the teeth on the rack bar. One arm of a bell crank lever42 is pivotally connected to the sleeve 40, this lever being fulcrumedupon a bracket 43 extending from the base 30. The other arm of the bellcrank lever 42 is connected, by means of a rod 44, with the projection23 heretofore referred to. A shelf or ledge 45 extends forward from thelower end of the slide 35 and is adapted to receive a trunnion 46extending downwardly from the center of a substantially cylindricalcasing 47. This casing is preferably made up of two sections detachablyconnected and provided with an angular tubular arm 48 extending from theperiphery thereof. A tubular standard 49 extends upwardly from thecenter of the casing 47 and loosely through an upper casing 50 one endof which is secured, as at 51, to the slide 35. A shaft 53 is journaledwithin the standard 49 and has a gear 55 secured to its lower end andmounted to rotate within the casing 47. Another gear 54 is secured tothe stand ard 49 and is adapted to rotate therewith and within thecasing 50. Studs 56 extend radially from that portion of the shaft 53located in the standard 49 and project into longitudinal slots 57 formedin the forked portion 58 of a shaft 59. The upper end of this shaft isjournaled within openings formed in the bracket 29 and the plate 33 anda longitudinal groove 60 is formed within the shaft and is adapted toreceive a dog 61 secured to a gear 62 which is mounted on the shaft 59and is arranged between the bracket 29 and the plate 33. It will beapparent therefore that while the shaft 59 is capable of being shiftedlongitudinally, the gear 62 will be held against movement by the bracket29 and the plate 33 although the dog 61 will cause the gear to rotate atall times with the shaft. The gear 55 has an arcuate groove 63 in oneface thereof and concentric with the shaft 53, there being a screw 64 orother project-ion extending from the casing 47 and into the groove.

An arcuate supporting arm 65 is secured at its centre to the front endof the casing 50 and has its upper edge provided with an upwardly curvedextension 66 located at the center thereof. This upper edge constitutesa bearing for an arm 67 which is pivotally connected, as at 68, to theshaft 69 of a gear 70 which is journaled within the casing 50 and mesheswith the gear 54. The arm- 65 may be connected to the casing 50 in anypreferred manner, as by means of a dove-tailed tongue 71 seated within adove tailed groove 72 formed in the front end of the casing 50, both thetongue and the groove being tapered toward the lower end. This structurehas been illustrated in Fig. 5. The arm 67 is preferably formed with atubular section 73 which is slidably mounted thereon and carries adepending finger 74 at its free end. It will be apparent therefore thatthis arm can be adjusted to any desired distance from the supportingstrip 65 simply by sliding the section 73 along the arm 67.

Bolted or otherwise secured to the radial tubular arm 48 of casing 47 isa longitudinally channeled extension 75 having rack teeth 76 pressedinto or otherwise formed upon the upper face thereof. A sleeve 77 isslidably mounted on the extension 75 and carries a spring pressed dog 78which normally engages one of the teeth 76 so as to hold the sleeveagainst move ment along the extension 75. Ears 7 9 extend laterally fromthe sleeve and journaled between them is a gear 80 secured to a shaft 81which extends downwardly from the ears and has a roller 82 secured toit. A spring arm 83 is secured to the bottom portion of the sleeve 77and is provided, adjacent its free end, with a transversely extendingyoke 84 the hanging end portions of which are provided with jackets 85formed preferably of rubber tubing, these jackets being supported beyondthe side faces of the casing 77 for the purpose hereinafter set forth.The gear 80 constantly meshes with a rack bar 86 which is slidablymounted within the channeled extension 75 and has a sprocket chain 87connected to one end thereof and extending into the casing 47, saidchain being in constant engagement with the gear or sprocket It is to beunderstood that when the parts are in their normal positions, theturning arm 48 with its extension 75 is extended to the right above theupper edge of one of the exposed leaves to be turned and with one of thejackets 85 in yielding contact with the.

leaf while the finger 74 is extended to the, left and in contact withthe first leaf of the music which has been turned, the arm 67 and itsextension 73 being also located above the leaf. When it is desired toturn a page from the right to the left, the pedal 6 is de pressed andcauses the shaft 2 to turn in one I direction, motion being thustransmitted through the bars 14 to the rock shaft 1820. The arcuate rack28 will thus rotate the gear 62 and cause a corresponding move ment ofthe shaft 59 and as this shaft is in sliding engagement with the shaft53 but is keyed to it, it will be apparent that said shaft will also berotated and thus cause a corresponding movement of the gear 55. Saidgear will therefore rotate within the casing 47 and push on the chain 87and cause the rack 86 to slide within arm 48 and its extension 75. Thesliding movement of the rack 86 will cause the roller to rapidly rotate,buckling the page between the roller and the holding finger 85 untilsaid page has passed from behind the roller, whereupon it will springoutwardly and cross the exposed portion of the roller. This movement ofthe roller 82 is brought to a stop by the end wall of the groove 63coming in contact with the stop screw 64. Further depression of thepedal 6 will cause arm 48 and its extension 75 to swing from the rightto the left and inasmuch as the leaf to be turned is in the path of theroller 82, it will be apparent that said leaf will also be swung fromthe right to the left. Inasmuch as the gear 54 is secured to and rotateswith the casing 47, it will be apparent that the gear 7 0 will berotated thereby during the swinging movement of the arm 48 so as tocause the arm 73 to also swing but in a direction opposite to that inwhich the arm 48 is moving. Arm 73 will travel along the upper edge ofthe strip 65 and just before the arm 48 arrives in position thereunder,the arm 67 will travel upwardly on the raised portion 66 and thus causethe finger 74 to be elevated out of the path of the extension 75. Afterthe finger 74 has passed the extension 75, it will drop down to itsnormal position and during the further movement of the arm 67 in thesame direction, the said finger 74 will be brought into contact with thenewly exposed sheet of music. Simultaneously with the arrival of thefinger 74 in this position, the shifting sheet is brought to its newposition at the left of the device and the mechanism is then ready to beagain set. To do this the operator pushes backwardly against the pedal12 so as to cause the shaft 2 to push backwardly on the lower ends ofthe bars 14. The said bars will therefore swing upon the bracket 15 andtheir upper ends will push forward on the shaft section 18 causing it toslide within the section 20. Motion will therefore be transmittedthrough the rod 44 to the bell crank lever 42 and this lever will pullupwardly on the sleeve 40 which is locked to the rack bar 38. The saidrack bar will therefore pull the slide 35 upwardly on the base 30 asufficient distance to withdraw the two holding devices 85 above theturned leaf so as to permit said leaf to fall fiat against the adjoiningleaf. By now depressing the pedal 5 and releasing the pedal 12 the saidpedal 12 and shaft 2, rod 14 and shaft section 18 will be moved to theirinitial positions, the slide 35 also moving downwardly to its initialposition under the action of gravity. The depression of the pedal 5causes the rack 28 to rotate gear 62 and shaft 59. Gear 55 thus rotatesand pulls the rack 86 back to its initial position where upon one endwall of groove 63 moves against stud 64 and causes casing 47 to rotateand move arm 48 back to its initial position at the right. At the sametime arm 67 and its extension '73 and finger 74 will be swung to theleft until the holding device 85 is brought into contact with the nextsheet to be turned. and the finger 74 is brought against the sheet whichhas al ready been turned. The foregoing operation can then be repeated.

Should it be desired to turn back a leaf located at the left of theapparatus, the parts should not be elevated above the newly turned pageby pressing pedal 12, but should be allowed to remain in engagement withthe leaf so that when the arm 48 and its extension 4-5 are returned totheir initial positions, the leaf will be carried therewith. If desiredthe base 30 may be attached to asuitable back board adapted to besecured to the musical instrument or to rest on the music rack thereof.

Various changes can of course be made in the construction andarrangement of the parts to adapt the machine for use in c0nnection withdifferent types of instruments. These and other changes can of course bemade without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

"What is claimed is 1. A music leaf turner including oppositely movableholding and turning mem bers adapted to pass each other, means forsimultaneously actuating the same, and means for elevating one of themembers when passing the other member.

2. A music leaf turner including a turning arm mounted to move in aplane perpendicular to the supported leaf, means upon said arm andmovable about an axis perpendicular to said plane for buckling the leafand shifting the same into the path of the said revoluble means, andmeans for rotating said leaf buckling means and subsequently swingingthe arm.

3. A music leaf turner including a turning arm mounted to swing in aplane perpendicular to the supported leaf, a leaf holding deviceconnected to the arm, means upon the arm and revoluble about an axisperpendicular to said plane, and cooperating with said leaf holdingdevice, for buckling a leaf and shifting the same into the path of saidrevoluble means, and mechanism for rotating said revoluble means andsubsequently swinging the arm.

4. A music leaf turner including a turning arm mounted to swing in aplane perpendicular to the supported leaf, a holding element, a leafengaging device revolubleabout an axis perpendicular to said plane andcarried by the arm, and mechanism for rotating said device for bucklingthe engaged leaf.

5. A music leaf turner including a turning arm mounted to swing in aplane perpendicular to the supported leaf, aleafholding elementconnected thereto, means upon the arm and revoluble about an axisperpendicular to said plane for shifting a leaf into the path of saidmeans, and mechanism for rotating said means and subsequently shiftingthe arm.

6. A music leaf turner including oppositely movable holding and turningmembers, means for simultaneously actuating the same, and means forelevating said members.

7. A music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement ina plane perpendicular to the supported leaf, a. leaf engaging devicemovable with the arm and mounted for rotation about an axisperpendicular to said plane, a pedal, and means operated by the pedalfor actuating the device to shift a leaf from a position back of saiddevice to a position in front thereof.

8. A music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement ina plane perpendicular to the supported leaf, a device thereon forengaging a leaf to be turned, said device being revoluble about an axisperpendicular to said plane, power transmitting mechanism, and a pedalfor actuating said mechanism to actuate said device to shift the leafinto the path thereof, and for actuating said mechanism to shift the armand device to turn the leaf.

9. A music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement, aleaf engaging device movable with the arm, mechanism for rotating saiddevice to shift the leaf into position in the path of the device, powertransmitting mechanism, a pedal for actuating said power transmittingmechanism to rotate the leaf shifting device and for swinging the arm,arm elevating means actuated by said power transmitting mechanism, and apedal for shifting said mecha nism to actuate the elevating means.

10. A. music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement,a roller depending therefrom, a gear revoluble with the roller, a rackslidably mounted within the arm and meshing within the gear, andmechanism for shifting the rack and subsequently swinging the arm.

11. A music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement,a roller depending therefrom, a gear revoluble with the roller, a rackmeshing with the gear and slidably mounted within the arm, a gearmounted for rotation, a flexible connection between the gear and rack,means for transmitting motion from the gear to the arm, said means beingadapted to permit a predetermined amount of lost motion prior to theactuating of the arm, and means for rotating the gear.

12. A music leaf turner including a casing mounted for rotation, aholding arm, mechanism for transmitting motion from said casing to thearm to swing the arm in one direction, a gear within the casing, an armextending from the casing, a revoluble leaf engaging device carried bysaid arm of the casing, means for rotating the gear, means actuated bythe gear for rotating the leaf engaging device, and means fortransmitting motion from the gear to the casing subsequent to therotation of said device, the two arms being movable simultaneously inopposite directions.

13. A music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement,a sleeve adjustably mounted thereon, a roller carried by and dependingfrom the sleeve, a gear revoluble with the roller, a rack mesh ing withthe gear and slidably mounted, in the arm, and means for shifting therack and subsequently swinging the arm.

14. A music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement,a sleeve, a roller depending from the sleeve, depending sheet holdingdevices extending from the arm, yielding means for pressing one of saiddevices against a sheet, and means for rotating the roller to bucklesaid sheet between the roller and the holding device contacting with thesheet.

15. A music leaf turner including a shaft, a gear thereon, an arcuaterack meshing with the gear and mounted for swinging movement, an arm, arevoluble sheet engaging device carried by the arm, means operated bythe shaft for successively rotating said device and swinging the arm,and means for elevating the arm relative to the gear.

16. A music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement,a revoluble leaf engaging device carried by the arm, an extensibleshaft, means operated by the rotation of the shaft for successivelyrotating said device and swinging the arm, and means operated by thelongitudinal movement of a portion of the shaft for raising or loweringthe arm.

17. A music leaf turner including an arm mounted for swinging movement,revoluble leaf engaging means carried by the arm, means actuated by therotation of the shaft for successively rotating the leaf engaging deviceand swinging the arm, means operated by the longitudinal movement of aportion of the shaft for elevating the arm,

and yielding means for holding the shaft normally elongated.

18. A music leaf turner including a base, a slide thereon, an armmounted for swinging movement upon the slide, a revoluble leaf engagingdevice carried by the arm, an extensible shaft, means operated by theshaft when rotated, for successively rotating said device and swingingthe arm, and means operated by the shaft when adjusted longitudinally,for shifting the slide upon the base.

19. A music leaf turner including a slide, a base supporting the same,an arm mounted for swinging movement, a revoluble leaf engaging devicecarried by the arm, a holding arm mounted for swinging movement, asupporting guide therefor and connected to the slide, an extensibleshaft, means operated by the shaft when rotated, for successivelyrotating the leaf engaging device and shifting the arms in oppositedirections, and means operated by the shaft when adjustedlongitudinally, for moving the slide upon the base.

20. A music leaf turner including a base, a slide thereon, a turning armmounted to swing upon the slide, a holding arm carried by the slide andmounted for swinging movement, an extensible shaft, means actuated bythe shaft when rotated, for simultaneously swinging the arms in oppositedirections, and means operated by the shaft when adjustedlongitudinally, for actuating the slide.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ERNST MEIER. Witnesses M. HEINRICH,

H. ERLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. C.

